Paul Italiano
Artist's Statement
My photographic style developed out of my experience in film and video. One frame of film or video is followed or preceded by other frames, all of the images usually coalesce into a narrative. Photography is different, a narrative may only be hinted at with one frame only.
I shot ' Ohio Street Beach' from a building towering 47 stories above the beach. It was shot to enhance the details of beach life on a large section of beach. I wanted to show a moment of life on a beach in all its glorious detail.
'Umbrellas on the Beach' was shot from high up on a hillside overlooking the beach in Positano, Italy. I found the umbrellas, lounge chairs and shadows formed a pattern, an orderliness that would soon be broken as people crowd the beach.
'Poles in the Sand' was shot in an area of Cancun that was depleted of sand in 2005 by hurricane Wilma. All of the sand was dredged up from the sea bottom and built up to its current level since then. The poles stand like sentinels marking the sands depth and width.
'Sunbather on Grass' was shot at Venice Beach, California. The woman is so pale, motionless and 'relaxed', in her death like pose. She lies in stark contrast to the life around her, indifferent to her as she lies there soaking in the sun.
It was a hot day at Miami beach, so hot I could not walk on the sand. Like everyone else I went into the water. What I saw was a strange pattern of peoples heads and shoulders bobbing in and out of the warm water, it looked like a party. I took this shot while carefully protecting my unhoused camera from the water. I call this photo 'Water Party'.
'California Surfer' is a shot of a single surfer heading into the breaking waves at sunset on a northern California Beach. Walking into the chilly water in full wetsuit, appearing confident, alone, facing the ocean's waves. The water churns and foams after the waves break, as he steps forward into the surf.
Thank you, and enjoy.
